ANKARA, Türkiye — A Turkish court on Monday ordered the release of a veteran journalist. Fatih Altayli from prison awaits the outcome of his appeal against his conviction for allegedly threatening the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Altaili, 63, a longtime columnist whose YouTube programs drew hundreds of thousands of viewers daily, was sentenced last month to four years and two months in prison. He was arrested in June on charges of threatening the president during one of his broadcasts, an incident critics described as an attempt to silence a prominent government opponent.
According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, a regional appeals court ordered his release from prison, citing the absence of any risk of escape, the fact that evidence had already been collected, and the time he had already spent in custody.
Altaili's arrest is related to statements in his program “Comments of Fatih Altaili”, in which he discussed a poll showing that more than 70% of the population opposes the lifelong presidency of Erdogan, who has ruled for more than two decades. Altayli said he was not surprised by the result, noting that Turkish society favors checking power.
“Look at the history of this country,” he said. “This is a nation that strangled its sultan when they didn't like him or didn't want him. There are quite a few Ottoman sultans who were killed, strangled or whose death was presented as a suicide.”
Altayli categorically denies that his comments constitute a threat to Erdogan.
After his arrest, he continued to comment in letters handed over by his lawyers, although he later suspended the program.
With much of Turkey's mainstream media owned by pro-government businesses or directly controlled by the state, many independent journalists have turned to YouTube as a platform for uncensored reporting.
